What is 5G RIC ? RAN Intelligent Controller

The RAN intelligent Controller (RIC) is cloud-native and forms a major component of an open , virtualized network of RAN. It is the foundation for enabling the programmability of networks, as well as intelligence and disaggregation on the modern network.

The RIC architecture is comprised of an Distributed Unit (DU) Software function as well as a multi-RAT protocol CU stack, a near-real time RIC and orchestration/NMS component with non-real Time RIC.

The RIC  makes smart decisions regarding the RAN in order to maximize performance. by using artificial intelligence (AI), machine-learning (ML), energy optimizationand Network slicing. It is the primary responsible  for all RAN operations and optimization processes such as radio connection management, mobility management, the QoS management, interference management and radio resource management.

What are the types of RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 

As per the Open RAN architecture, there are following two types of RAN Intelligent Controller. This classification of RIC is done based on control functionality timings e.g. Non-RT control functionality (> 1s) and near-Real Time (near-RT) control functions(<1s).

• Non Real-Time RIC (RIC non-RT)
• Near Real-Time RIC (RIC near-RT)

The non-RT RIC is deployed centrally, while the near RT RIC can be deployed centrally or on the network edge.

Non-RT RIC: A logical function internal to the Service Management and Orchestration (SMO). It receives some intents from e.g., the Business Support System (BSS), and translates them into policies for the Near-RT RIC to guide its operation. The Non-RT RIC can host non-real-time control, optimization and AI/ML models running within applications denoted as rApps.

Near-RT RIC: A logical function that controls and optimizes E2 nodes’ functions and resources. It can host control, optimization and AI/ML models within applications denoted as xApps that operate at a time scale varying from 10 milliseconds to 1 second. xApps are used to enforce policies instantiated by the Non-RT RIC.